Jared Johnson acquired his first commercial real estate property when he was 18 years old.

The nearly 6-acre parcel at 4905 Hubbell Ave. in northeast Des Moines included a 77,000-square-foot building that had been occupied for numerous years by Homemakers Furniture.

Johnson, who was fresh out of high school, approached some friends about investing in the project, lined up subcontractors and other workers, and sought out tenants for the remodeled space.

“I learned a lot about the business side of the development business,” said Johnson, vice president of Accurate Development RES in West Des Moines. “I was managing people, which is tough when you’re 18 and everyone you’re working with is older.”

The center portion was removed from the one-story building. The remaining smaller portion of the original structure was converted to a multi-tenant strip center. The larger second building is now occupied by two tenants.

Johnson and his investors bought the property in 2013 for $450,000, real estate records show. Four years later, they sold it for $3.1 million.

The project was Johnson’s first start-to-finish experience in commercial real estate development. “It was a good learning experience for what I’m doing today,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s father, Kevin Johnson, started Accurate Development Inc. in 1991. The company’s early years mostly involved developing residential lots and homebuilding.

Jared Johnson joined the family business after graduating from Valley High School and now oversees the company’s commercial development and property management, which includes over 650,000 square feet of retail, office, flex and warehouse space.

We recently caught up with Johnson.

What got you interested in commercial real estate development?

My grandfather [Jared Johnson] was in commercial real estate, and when I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with him. A couple of the properties that he actually developed that I grew up around, I own and manage today. One is Interstate Business Park on Meredith Drive and Interstate [Highway 80-35] and another one to the west. … I spent my summers [at Interstate Business Park]. I mowed and trimmed trees.

My dad, Kevin, is in the business too. He’s more on the residential side. My dad and my grandfather have been the two biggest influencers in what I do today.

After you bought and developed your first property, what did you do?

I basically kept buying property after that. I had some buildings on 71st [Street] and Madison [Avenue] that I remodeled and sold. The other big one was the old outlet center in Story City. It was 130,000 square feet. I remodeled it and sold it to a company called Dose Steelworks. They manufacture trailer beds for corn pickers and bean pickers. I’ve also done a couple of residential developments where I’ve put the roads in and sold the lots. And now I’m doing Jordan Creek Point and a similar project in Ankeny.

You are a young person in a profession with a lot of older people. How have you managed that?

When I was 18, it was tough. I would say, of my struggles, the majority of them had to do with the age barriers. People, they don’t take you for real when you’re 18. … As I’ve gotten older and proven myself, it hasn’t been much of an issue. When I was 18, I was always the youngest person in the meeting. Now I’m starting to see people who are younger than me.

What advice would you give young people in similar situations?

Have a good work ethic.

Expand on that.

I think a lot of younger people quit too easily. If you want to make something happen, you can do it. It might take time, it might take hard work, but if you put your mind to it, you can do it.

How did the pandemic affect the business?

We have a lot of tenants in smaller retail spaces. At the start of the pandemic, a lot of those business owners were worried about their future. Now looking back, [the pandemic] may have helped more than hurt them. People were trying to get out of the house and when they did, they supported the smaller businesses. The smaller businesses we lease space to, it was a benefit to a lot of them.

You not only build and develop commercial space, you also manage the leased space. Talk about that.

We’ve got about 700,000 square feet now. A lot of that is in the Interstate Business Park, which my grandpa built 30 years ago. A lot of the space we managed is projects he built over the years. The [Jordan Creek Pointe] is about 70,000, and the Ankeny project will be about 100,000 square feet when it is done.

Talk more about the Ankeny project.

It’s north of [Des Moines Area Community College] in the Prairie Trail area. It will be basically retail, similar to the other retail buildings we’ve been doing.

How do you get the right mix of tenants in these projects?

It’s a little bit of trial and error, seeing what fits and what doesn’t. But for the most part, we leave it up to the tenants.

Putts & Pins is going into Jordan Creek Pointe. Is that going to be a good fit for that area?

It will be a great fit. One, the mall is there and it draws a couple million people a year. There’s a lot of traffic around there.

What’s the future look like for your business?

As far as development, I’ve got 35,000 square feet under construction at Jordan Creek [Pointe]. I’ve got another building I’m hoping to start this fall or spring in Ankeny. That one’s 27,000 [square feet]. And I’m just finishing a 12,000-square-foot center in Waukee.

What’s it been like to work with your dad?

It’s been good. For the most part, he lets me do whatever I want. He’s obviously been in the business a lot longer than I have and if I need advice, I pick up the phone and call.

What have you learned from your dad and grandfather that you try to emulate?

There are different aspects to what I’ve learned. My grandfather is a more hands-on guy. He was on the job sites every single day. He could look at some property and know what to do with it. What I’ve learned from my dad is more delegating – finding the correct people to do the job. If you want to grow your business, that’s what you have to do.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’d like to keep building more buildings. I’ve got some land developments that I’m doing also. In those, I put in the streets and then sell the lots to developers. I’ve got a big project in Urbandale, one in Adel and one in Norwalk. … Really, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing.

How do you spend your free time?

Most of the time on weekends I’m on the job site. … It’s one of those things my grandpa told me 20-some years ago. He said, if you enjoy it, you’re not working. I don’t feel like I’m going to work. I do it because I enjoy it.

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Age: 29

Hometown: West Des Moines

Lives in: Urbandale  

Family: Parents Kevin and Brenda Johnson; engaged to be married in January

Education: Graduate of Valley High School, West Des Moines

Work background: Began working in commercial development in 2013, after graduating from high school. Joined Accurate Development in 2013 and became vice president of Accurate Commercial RES in 2018.

Contact: jjohnson@accuratedevelopment.com